Driving around Colorado Springs, it’s impossible not to notice the roller coaster-like effect of the notorious “pothole problem” plaguing the asphalt of our tired roads and ruining the shocks of inconspicuous drivers’ cars. In the past few years, construction sites have popped up around the city to apparently fix the issue.   While necessary, these attempted efforts have also cost millions of tax dollars and made traffic ridiculous, for example on student’s commutes from Rockrimmon to Air Academy every morning.  Whitney Moran, Junior Photo Editor for the Jetstream Journal, described one of the worst potholes she knows of, saying, “There’s a pothole on Garden of the Gods that must be 3 feet long and 2 feet wide that’s pretty much unavoidable. It is horrible.”  And there’s many more where that came from.

So is there a plan to fix the madness? With public reporting and a recent sales tax increase, local authorities have established some semblance of a long term plan to redeem our destroyed roads.  Hopefully, smooth roads are finally on the near horizon for Colorado Springs.

KRDO launched a “Pothole Patrol” along with a reporting strategy on coloradosprings.gov to give raging drivers an outlet to express their concern for specific potholes along their commutes. Because Colorado Springs is so spread out, the issue of solving all of the grievances of drivers becomes a time-consuming and money-sucking ordeal.  To help, KRDO’s reporting service includes questions about damages to people’s cars and a place to upload photos. With this online communication, specific potholes can be reported and hopefully mended.

Additionally, a recent sales tax increase is intended to help fund the pothole problem beginning this spring. With local concerns multiplying, Colorado Springs officials are being asked to take immediate action, even to the point of requesting warning signs for unknowing victims of the pothole epidemic. Interestingly, however, the city is not responsible for damage claims and has not paid any of the over 500 damage claims made by locals thus far.  City officials claim that the best way to fix the problem is to notify 719-385-ROAD, but local concerns are still not silenced.

A significant force in promoting these anti-pothole efforts is the work of productive Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers. According to Ryan Henley, “Last November, Suthers led an initiative to increase taxes in order to provide more funds for our city’s infrastructure. The initiative gained bipartisan support from voters, largely due to Suthers’ efforts on the issue.  Measure 2C passed, resulting in a .62% tax increase to provide 250 million dollars for repairing our city roads over the next five years.”

Although the problem has grown over the years because of weather conditions and continued inability to pay for the repairs, councils such as Sales Tax for Streets, appointed by Mayor Suthers, are working to help.  They feel passionate about keeping the public informed and getting the issue funded and fixed. “There’s a lot of potholes,” said Corey Farkas, the streets division manager, in an interview with News 5. “This year we’ve filled over 51,000 potholes which is double what we did compared to last year.”

This spring, be on the lookout for even more construction as our tax dollars fight the raging pothole problems on the streets of Colorado Springs.  Hopefully, we will see smooth driving within the year.

Sources:

Harrison, Scott. “Pothole Patrol: Sales-Tax-For-Streets’ Oversight Committee Meets.” Traffic / Pothole Patrol. KRDO.com, 11 Jan. 2016. Web. 18 Feb. 2016.

“News5 Investigates: Ballot Measure 2C for Road Repairs in Colorado Springs.” News5 Investigates: Ballot Measure 2C for Road Repairs in Colora. KOAA, 22 Oct. 2015. Web. 23 Feb. 2016. KOAA.com